How to Share Your Location with Friends on Android
GPS systems have come a long way in the last couple of decades. The technology is now easily accessible on your Android smartphone. Several apps can ascertain your exact location. The most popular and widely used is of course Google Maps. Using these apps, you can not only find your location and navigate but also share this location with your friends. Everyone isn’t familiar with this or doesn’t know how to use this feature, so we are going to talk about how to share your location with friends on Android.
Directly sharing your location is an extremely convenient way to communicate your exact whereabouts with your friends. Often we struggle to explain where we are or give directions to our house as we try to do it verbally. People often forget that they have this option right at their fingertips. This is exactly what we will be discussing in this article. We are going to make things easier for you by discussing the various ways in which you can share your location with your friends on Android.
1. Use Google Location Sharing to Keep Track of Loved Ones
As mentioned earlier, the most popular and convenient option for sharing your location is to use Google Maps. It is pre-installed on all Android smartphones and probably the most useful service that all Android users are entitled to. This generation depends on Google Maps more than anything else when it comes to navigation. It is an extremely important service app that allows people to find addresses, businesses, hiking routes, review traffic situations, etc. Google Maps is like an indispensable guide, especially when we are in an unknown area.
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In addition to helping you with navigation, Google Maps can also be used to share your location with your friends. Follow the steps given below to see how to share your location with your friends.
1. The first thing that you need to do is open Google Maps on your device.
2. Now tap on your “Profile Picture” which is present on the top right corner of your screen.
3. After that select the Location sharing option and then tap on the Share Location button.
4. If this is your first time then you might have to grant location access to Google Maps.
5. The location that you share using Google Maps is a live location. This means that it will keep updating your location and track all your movements.
6. You can determine the period for which your live location will be visible to your contacts. There is also an option to keep it on at all times until you manually turn it off again.
7. Once you have finalized the duration, select a contact with whom you would like to share your location.
8. If the contacts are not listed, you can choose any other app to share your location such as Gmail, WhatsApp, Messenger, etc. are available at your disposal.
9. Now, your live location will be accessible to your friends and you will get a message that shows the list of people who can see your location.
10. If you want to stop sharing your location at any point in time, then you can simply tap on the Stop button.
This is the most used method if you want to share your location with friends on Android. However, if you do not want to share your location through Google Maps, then you can check out the next method.
Also Read: How to Fake GPS Location on Android
“WhatsApp” is one of the most widely used messaging services in the world. It is free, simple, and extremely easy to use. Apart from texting, it comes with additional features like voice calling, video calling, conference calling, sharing images, videos, documents, files, contacts, and a lot more, making WhatsApp extremely useful and an inseparable part of modern communications. The best thing about WhatsApp is that it is easy to pick up and therefore it has been able to expand its user base to the old and not so tech-savvy generation. Irrespective of your age or technical prowess, you can use WhatsApp. As a result, people from all walks of life and socio-economic backgrounds have flocked to WhatsApp.
A lot of people might not be aware of this feature but WhatsApp can be used to share your live location with your friends. The app has integration with Google Maps and you can share the data with your contacts. It will be a part of the Conversation and this means that you don’t even have to close the app to share your location. You can also send it to a group and this way everyone will be able to able to view it. Given below is a step-wise guide for the same.
1. The first thing that you need to do is open WhatsApp on your device.
2. Now choose the contact or a group with whom you would like to share your live location.
3. Tap on the Attach button (looks like a paperclip) which is present on the right side of the text box.
4. After that select the “Location” option.
5. Now you can choose to share your location at that moment (Current Location) or choose to share a Live location if you are on the move.
Note: You can use the live location when you are traveling, or you are not in a specific place, and your contact can follow you through your live location. However, your current location is the one where you are at the moment. Moreover, you also have the option of manually searching for a location and sending it to your contact.
6. If you choose “Live location sharing”, then you can select the duration for which you would like to share this location.
7. You can also add a small message in the add comment section.
8. Finally, tap on the send button, and your location will be sent. In the case of live location sharing, your exact location will keep getting refreshed and updated from time to time.
Another popular instant messaging app is Facebook Messenger. Similar to WhatsApp, it has access to your live location. When you open the app for the first time, it asks for your permission to get location access. If you allow it then, Messenger will be able to help you share your location details with your friends.
Once you turn on your location services for Facebook Messenger, your messages will have a location tag. Your friends can tap on it and they will be able to see where it was sent from. They can even tap and hold the message and select the “View Map” option. This will give them a more detailed view of your location. However, this would only show your location at the time when this message will be sent. Additionally, you can also share your live location just like in WhatsApp. Follow the steps given below to see how.
1. The first thing that you need to do is open the Facebook Messenger app on your device.
2. Now open the conversation where you would like to share your location.
3. Tap on the Attachment button (four dots arranged in a square pattern).
4. Here, select the Location option and then tap on the Share Live Location button.
5. Your location will be sent to him/her as a message. They can open the message and they will be able to see your exact location.
Note: You may see the option of ”Allow messenger to use your location”, where you have to select Allow.
6. Similar to WhatsApp, you can send it to multiple people by texting them in a group.
Although Google Hangouts is not very frequently used, it is still a decent app for sharing your location details with your friends. The process is very similar to other online messaging apps. All that you need to do is open the conversation and tap on the paper clip icon. After that select the location option.
You can either manually enter an address or tap on the GPS button to pinpoint your exact location. If you want to send some other address, then you can move the pin to that particular point. Finally, tap on the Send button and it will send the Google Maps data for your location.
Snapchat is another way with which you can share your location with your friends on Android. You can follow these steps for sharing your location through Snapchat.
1. Open the Snapchat application on your Android smartphone.
2. Swipe the Snapchat towards the left side to open the Snap Map.
3. In the Snap Map, you can turn on your location by clicking on the Gear icon in the top right corner.
4. Untick the option of ”Ghost mode” for your friends to see your location.
Another way of sharing your location through Snapchat is by clicking a snap of your place and sending it to your friends on Snapchat.
Also Read: How to Tag a Location in Snapchat
You might be surprised to know that even your default messaging app can help you share your location with your friends. The only thing that you need to make sure of is that the MMS service is enabled for your SIM card. Sharing your location via a text message converts it to a multimedia message. These services require you to pay some additional charges.
1. Open the SMS apps on your smartphone.
2. Search for the contact with whom you want to share your location.
3. Open the conversation window and select the ”Paper Clip” or Plus icon to access the Location option.
4. Finally, click on the location, where you can easily share your location by turning your GPS On, or you can search for a specific location. Your contact will receive your Google maps ID for the location, which you have shared.
7. Install third-party application for sharing location
If you want to share your location with friends on your Android phone, then you can install an application called “Find my friends“, which is a free application. This application allows you to share your locations with your friends and family easily through the app, and can you can even find the exact location of your contacts. However, you and your friends must have this application installed on the smartphone. You can easily try out this location-sharing app by installing it through the Google Play store.
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We hope that you find this information helpful and you were able to share your location with friends using your Android phone. Sharing your location with your friends and family can be a lifesaver. It not only helps them find your address accurately but also enables family members to keep track of their loved ones.
Both Android and iPhone users can use Google Maps for all their navigation needs. Owing to the wonderful network of GPS satellites, it is possible to accurately determine one’s location. We would encourage you to try the various ways to share your location as described in this article.
